Here’s something to know about journalists at The Arizona Republic: There are some issues we just won’t — just can’t — let go.

Especially the neglect and abuse of kids in Arizona.

We've been covering this topic for decades. And the heartbreaking stories continue.

Columnist Karina Bland is haunted by the kids who wait, because when you’re a foster child, everything takes so long.

“No one can make a decision,” she told me. “ 'Oh, we’ll get to it next legislative session. Oh, we’ll postpone that court date.' … That’s all summer, or a semester, or the difference between a baby and a toddler. It’s not remembering what your mom looks like … It’s front teeth falling out and growing back in."

As of June 30, Arizona had more than 18,000 kids in state care, children who have been taken from their homes for reports of neglect or abuse, according to the state. That’s an increase of 28 percent in three years.

At the same time, child-welfare caseworkers battle burnout and massive caseloads.

That’s why, today, I’m thrilled to announce the Arizona Community Foundation has given The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com a three-year grant to support in-depth investigative reporting about child welfare in Arizona. We’ll examine the reasons for the surge, the systems meant to support and protect these children. And, we’ll look for solutions.

Foundation funding for journalism feels new, but it’s not without precedent, and we believe it holds great promise. The Arizona Community Foundation grant will enable a deeper look than we’ve ever been able to take before, by supporting extra reporting time and resources and multimedia storytelling to explore the problems in new ways.

“The Arizona Community Foundation has made significant investments in foster youth care and education over the past several years, from bringing FosterEd: Arizona to our state to commissioning original research on the educational achievement gap among foster youth,” said Jacky Alling, the Arizona Community Foundation's chief philanthropy officer. “This project adds another component to our ongoing investment in these young people, who deserve our commitment to their well-being and futures. We believe strongly in the power of quality journalism to shine a light on critically important topics and are proud to partner with The Arizona Republic on this work.”

Reporter Mary Jo Pitzl says, “We want to give the public an understanding of why more than 18,000 Arizona kids are in state care, how they got there, and what it will take to reduce those numbers.” She covers state agencies and has written extensively about the state Department of Child Safety as well as Child Protective Services, the agency that preceded it. “From my coverage, I’ve learned these cases are rarely black and white.

“There is a lot of nuance," she told me. "Family situations are sticky.”

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We know abuse and neglect can change a child’s life forever. Childhood trauma can alter brain development and, research shows, can lead to depression, anxiety, addiction, relationship issues and suicidal behavior.

Editorial writer Linda Valdez recalls interviewing foster kids “aging out” of the system — becoming adults without returning home or being adopted — and “being told that their expectations were to fail, end up in jail, have kids out of wedlock." What struck her most, she told me, was knowing these kids were largely invisible, even though there were enough of them to fill a small city. She calls it “Foster Care City.”

Columnist Laurie Roberts has long been a champion for Arizona’s children. She says this project should focus on these kids in foster care, “with the goal of reducing those numbers to some realistic benchmark.”

Investigative reporter Bob Ortega rejoined The Republic to be part of the project. He has been looking at our reports on child welfare — often containing tragically familiar warnings — that stretch back to the 1960s.

“We've seen the pendulum swing over and again,” Bob told me — at one end, protecting children by taking them from families but putting them into a sometimes-worse system. At the other end, keeping families together even when that leaves kids in danger.

“So the question isn't just what's still wrong,” Bob said, “but rather: How do we change the conversation to take us in a different direction?”

We believe this project is the place where this can begin.

As Karina told me: “There has to be a way to do it — whatever ‘it’ is going to be — on a child’s timeline."

We’ll do it for those aged-out foster children who become adults in a chaotic world.

For those 18,000 kids waiting for a better life.

And we’ll do it for the ones who are coming next.

Because this is the issue we won’t — we can’t — let go.

Nicole Carroll is the editor and vice president of news for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com.

Meet our experts

The Republic has been aggressively covering Arizona child welfare for decades. Here are some of the journalists who have been part of the coverage.

Karina Bland has been a reporter for The Republic since 1990, more than a decade of that time spent covering child welfare. She also writes a column twice weekly. Reach her at karina.bland@arizonarepublic.com and on Twitter @KarinaBland.

Bob Ortega, a former Republic investigative reporter, rejoined The Republic this month for this project to report full time on child and family welfare, foster care and related issues. He also has covered the border, Homeland Security and other matters. He has worked at the Wall Street Journal, the Seattle Times and Honolulu Civil Beat. Reach him at rortega@arizonarepublic.com and on Twitter @Bob_Ortega.

Mary Jo Pitzl covers state government, from the origins of state laws, through the politics and debate that influence those policies, to the way policies are carried out by state agencies including the Department of Child Safety. She has been a reporter at The Republic for three decades. Reach her at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com and on Twitter @maryjpitzl.

Laurie Roberts came to The Republic in 1981, where she has been a reporter, editor, news columnist and editorial writer. She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2001 and won the Society of Professional Journalists National Sunshine Award in 2009 for her role in opening up Child Protection Services records in cases of severe child abuse. She won the 2010 Scripps Howard Foundation's National Journalism Award for Commentary and Sigma Delta Chi’s national award for column writing for 2014. Reach her at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com and on Twitter @LaurieRoberts.

Linda Valdez is a member of the editorial board and a columnist. She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing in 2003. She is married to a Mexican immigrant. Her book, “Crossing the Line: A marriage across borders,” tells the story of blending their families and cultures. She has been with The Republic since 1993. Reach her at linda.valdez@arizonarepublic.com and on Twitter @valdezlinda.